Security of tenure of judges
Topic: Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Judiciary"; Class 11, Ch 9 "Constitution as a Living Document"
Meaning
Security of tenure means a judge keeps the job until the fixed retirement age and cannot be removed easily. Supreme Court judges serve until 65. High Court judges serve until 62, raised from 60 by the 15th Amendment in 1963. A judge can be removed only for 'proved misbehaviour or incapacity' (Art. 124(4)). Removal needs a special majority in each House of Parliament in the same session: a majority of the House's total membership and two-thirds of the members present and voting. Because removal is so hard, judges can rule against the government without fearing for their jobs.
Example
In May 1993 the Lok Sabha voted on removing Justice V. Ramaswami. The motion got two-thirds of the members voting. It still failed the total-membership test because the Congress abstained. No judge in India has ever been removed.
Don't confuse with
- Impeachment: the Constitution uses this word only for removing the President (Art. 61). It does not call the removal of judges "impeachment".
Related concepts
- Independence of the judiciary
- Financial security of judges
- Restriction on discussing judges' conduct in the legislature